Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Today, Oct. 28, Nicole celebrates her 12th birthday. We had a party a few weekends ago with friends from school, and she had a great time there. This has been a busy and intense year for Nicole. She's just getting used to being 12, she told me this morning. It may take her a little while. It's a spring birthday this time, in the southern hemisphere.

She moved house in Winnipeg, changed schools, travelled via Vancouver to Hawaii, New Zealand (south and north islands), and landed in Australia in Ferny Creek. Touched Uluru. Soaked in hot mineral water in New Zealand.

Went to a new school, met new staff, made some great friends, travelled all over the bottom parts of Australia stuffed into the back seat of the Saab (didn't love that part all the time...!), was a sultana in pink satin (pics to follow when we receive them), learned some Aussie lingo ("haitch" for the letter H; "... as", a way of adding meaning to a comment such as "good as", "tired as", "happy as", "mad as", etc.). She is friends with the large Huntsman spider who lives in between the window and screen in the living room.

She's been wakened by hissing and snorting, heavy-breathing possums and even tried to make friends with one of them. A king parrot ate out of her hand. A kangaroo followed her around (and her brothers) looking for a snack. She heard a dingo howling. Saw the Southern Cross. Picked up some red dust on her footwear. Wore out a few pairs of shoes. Enjoys Vegemite on toast with the best of them.

Walked up One Tree Hill Road many times weekly. Endured her dad and brothers teasing her about a variety of events. Jumped on the trampoline, almost daily. Played in the Australian surf and swam in salt water. She danced at a disco. Read even more books about the Titanic... She misses her grandmother and her Winnipeg friends. They mean a lot to her as well.

Snow Days

Back in Canada

Date and Ginger Oaties

I've mentioned the date and ginger cookies by the Byron Bay Cookie Co. I'm still looking for their recipe, but have been experimenting with a few of my own, and have found a fig and ginger recipe that can be adapted and gets quite close to the Byron Bay original!

Sift flour into bowl, stir in oats, coconut, sugar, dates and ginger. Combine butter and golden syrup and water in pan, stir over low heat (or use microwave) until the butter is melted. Stir hot bubbling mixture into the flour mixture.

Shape 2 level tsps of mixture into a ball, place onto greased (or use paper) oven tray. Flatten slightly. Allow about 5 cm between cookies. Bake in moderately hot oven (180/350ish or a bit hotter) for 12 - 15 minutes (depends on size of cookie) or until slightly browned.

Lay the sliced oranges on a platter and scatter over some of the radish, sliced thinly. Grate the remaining radishes and mix with the carrot.

Mix olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, orange blossom water and lemon juice, and season with salt. If you can't get the orange blossom water, just leave it out... I have tasted a salad with it as a dressing and it's amazing, but don't stress about finding it if it isn't easily available. Pour the dressing over the grated carrots and refrigerate for 15 minutes. To serve, pile carrot and radish mix on top of the orange and radish slices, and dust with a little cinnamon.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and add the laksa paste, stirring occasionally for 2 min. Add the sugar and cook until dissolved. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock and kaffir lime leaves and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, chicken slices and prawns (add prawns later if you wish), and getnly poach them until just cooked.

Drain the rice noodles. Divide the noodles, tofu and bean sprouts among four large bowls and ladle over the soup, chicken and prawns. Top with shallots and coriander leaves.

Spring Flowers

Suzannah Espie

Parrot Visitor

Singer Alex Lloyd

Pennywhistle by Augie March

Orange and Almond Cake

Ingredients1 large orange3 eggs1 heaped cup castor sugar1/2 tsp baking powder (increase if not using s.r. flour)1 cup almond meal1/3 cup S.R. flour (the brand used in the original recipe is gluten-free, I think)

Method1. Place orange in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook 1 hour or until orange is very soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove seeds from orange and place in food processor/blender. Blend orange, including skin, until smooth. Cool.2. Preheat oven -- 180 - 200 C.3. Grease and line 20 cm springform pan with baking paper.4. Beat eggs, sugar and baking powder until thick and pale.5. Mix orange pulp into egg mix.6. Whisk flour and almond meal together and fold into egg and orange mixture.7. Pour into prepared tin.8. Bake 45 minutes. Insert skewer into centre of cake to ensure cake is cooked. This cake is slightly moist when finished.9. Cool cake in oven. (Turn oven off first!)From Dianne Boyle.

1. Heat oven to 180C. Roast beetroot in oven on baking tray for 35 minutes or until tender. (I did not wrap in foil.) Cool when finished, peel skin, and cut into wedges.2. To make dressing, combine oil, vinegar and brown sugar. I didn't have red wine vinegar so I used a sweetish red wine we have in the house and combined it with the oil, and some white wine vinegar. Season with cracked pepper and salt.3. Place beetroot in large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and marinate if you have time. Add the spinach and gently toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with goat's cheese and walnuts.

Adapted from taste.com.au

Cate's Scones

We are in the final throes of winter. The following scone recipe is courtesy of Cate, our neighbour.

Method1. Set oven at 220 C.2. Rub butter into flour and salt, using the fingertips.3. Mix into a soft dough with milk. Add a little milk if required.4. Turn on to a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.5. Roll out 2 cm thick and cut into shapes.6. Arrange on oven tray and glaze tips with milk.7. Bake at 220 C for 10 - 15 min.

Ned Kelly helmet

Anzac Biscuits

Method:1. Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.2. Melt syrup and butter together.3. Mix soda with boiling water and add to melted butter and syrup.4. Add to dry ingredients.5. Place teaspoons of mixture well spaced on a greased baking tray.6. Bake in a slow oven for 12 - 15 minutes at 180C.

Watch them. Every oven is different and they can dry out quickly. Makes up to 50 (small, obviously; we got about 25 biscuits out of this recipe).

Passionfruit buttercake

125 g butter, melted300 g (2 cups) self raising flour (or add 1.5 tsp baking powder)1/3 cup buttermilk2 eggs, lightly beaten1 cup sugar1 tsp lemon zest2 passionfruit, to serve1 cup icing sugar, to serve1. Preheat oven to 175C. Grease and line a loaf pan. Place the butter, flour, buttermilk, eggs, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Using hand beaters (or a wooden spoon), mix until well combined.2. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 45 - 50 min or until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cool in the pan for 5 min then transfer to a wire rack. To serve, remove the pulp from the passionfruit and place in a small bowl. Add the icing sugar and stir to combine until the mixture forms a smooth paste. Drizzle passionfruit mixture over the cake.

If you can't find passionfruit, use the juice and pulp of any tart fruit you love.ENJOY. Adapted from a recipe in the Herald Sun's taste.com.au, May 6, 2009.

Tom Roberts

Spring Sale and Open House - May 9

Rosalie Gascoigne

black bird box 1976

Book and Music List

"it's raining in Mango" by Thea Astley. Bought it used in Nimbin. The guy selling books couldn't help me out when I asked about it. A nice surprise. Traces 5 generations of a family with Irish and Canadian roots in northern Queensland.

Ruth Parks: "Missus", "The Harp in the South", and "Poor Man's Orange". Set in country Aus and on to Sydney. Follows an economically (and socially) deprived family over several generations. It's pathetic at a basic level, but inspiring to see how certain individuals try to escape their status.

"The Castle" and "Crackerjack" -- 2 sweet little Aussie movies. In "The Castle", a man fights a powerful corporation from taking over his house to enlarge the airport acquisition. "Crackerjack" is about the members of a lawn bowling club and their fight to save the club without resorting to the pokies.

the waddi tree by Kerry McGinnis (author of The Road to Coorain) -- an authentic account of growing up in the outback in the 1950s/60s